


Freedom

by tiahwinchester



Category: Achievement Hunter, Rooster Teeth, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, Superhero - Fandom, comic - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M, Superheroes, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-02-19 23:24:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2406713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiahwinchester/pseuds/tiahwinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After chemicals finally fully polluted the air people started to notice changes in new life. Babies were being genetically mutated. Their DNA spreading and stretching until it becomes something unrecognisable, inhuman. Even after the chemicals were cleared out, children still possessed special abilities. So life changed. Eventually, all the normal humans died out and the world was crawling with mutants. People adapted.</p><p>"The school doesn't want me telling you this but, I think it's only fair that you do. In this world, most of you will be trained for battle, only a few of you will ever have to face anymore fighting than just your everyday purse snatcher but still. Some people think it's wrong to train kids like yourselves for battle even though it is mandatory and you do get to choose which line of work you want to go in. For years these people were going at it. Rioting in the streets, threatening the higher ups, refusing to let their children get an education unless things changed. Only in the past four years has it been quiet. But it seems, as from the evidence, they've decided to strike back."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Handling and Controling

Michael jolted awake to a pain in his right arm. "God dammit." He muttered as he grabbed the can of oil on his bedside table.

  
"Dude, you need to seriously get an upgrade." chuckled Ray from his bed next to Michaels'.

  
"Yeah well, they're fucking expensive," he began placing the rod into his metal joints and greasing them. "You'd think with the hundreds of scientists fluttering over me at least one of them would trade me a better system for a chance to poke and prod at me."

  
Ray just laughed.

  
"What're you still doing up?"

  
Ray sighed. He was looking out the large window. "I was just looking after Gavin." He nodded towards the other boy in their room, sleeping soundly at the far wall. "He was crying when I got back from training."

  
"Again? Fuck, if he's not over it by now he'll never be!" complained Michael.

  
Ray turned to him, shaking his head and chuckling, "Jesus Michael, it's only been a week. It's probably gonna be like this for at least another month. Dan was his best friend."

  
A few nights ago their camp was raided. It happened while everyone was asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Nothing was ruined or trashed. Their only intent was to kidnap a few of the kids. Some were seniors, some were freshmen. Some were specialists, some were rookies. Dan happened to be one of them. All they left behind was a little symbol, like a crown with a sword slicing through it and the words "change will happen." spray painted underneath.

  
"I can not stand another four weeks of this crap." Michael muttered again.

  
"Hey, you're already asleep most of the time. You don't have to stand shit."

  
There was silence for a while as Ray switched back to staring contently at the dark clouds outside.

 

Michael finally asked "What's the time?"

 

"Dunno. Three maybe?"

  
Michael slumped back down, "Fuck Ray, go to sleep or Ramsey'll have your neck."

  
Ray just smirked.

* * *

  
"So. Subject selection is coming up soon. As well as placement tests. I'm here to prepare all of you." Jack said as he leant against his desk and stroked his ginger beard. "In the next few days we will be under going multiple revision tests, random quizzes and a few practice tests. This is a very important period of time for you Sophomore's." He stared out at the blank faces. Some holding their heads up, others leaning back and chatting "quietly" to the person behind them. "If ya'll think this is hard, just wait."

 

Ray let his head fall onto the desk, his eyes drooping closed. Michael tried poking him but he wouldn't budge. Jack's words slowly became quieter and deeper until he could here no more.

 

The sound of a door slamming awoke him.

 

"Alright you assholes. Surprise training test. To the Gym, stat!" Mr. Ramsey ordered as he busted through the door and began smacking the kids who's heads were lying on their table. Although his bright blue eyes looked tired and sunken, he still had a tough aroma to him.

 

"Geoff, we were just about to go over controlling and handling." Jack protested.

 

Geoff turned to him and smiled, "ah yes, but what better way to test their control and handle on their abilities than a prac session."

 

Jack couldn't do anything to protest, he just rolled his eyes.

 

The kids filed out and made their way towards the gymnasium.

 

"I hope my arm doesn't fuck up today." Michael muttered to himself.

 

Once they were all sitting attentively on the stands, Geoff stood, front and centre, puffing out his chest.

 

"When I call your names, you will come out here and show us your ability, then you will or _won't_ ," he said 'won't' a little more sternly, "complete a task surrounding that ability." "Any volunteers?" everyone looked around but no one had the guts to put up their hand. Geoff smiled, "I guess we'll go in alphabetical order." He pulled out his clipboard and smiled wider at the few sudden intakes of breath. "Dayton."

 

A dark girl with long black hair in a side braid stepped down. She was pursing her lips and fiddling with her hair, clearly nervous. 

 

Geoff stepped aside for her to take the floor.

 

For a few seconds, she did nothing but look at the ground. One of her friends yelled "Go team Tina!" for encouragement.

 

After a few more seconds, she looked up. "I-I kind of need someone else, to show my abilities."

 

"Alright, Jones, get your ass up there." Michael was often a popular choice for times like this as he was literally indestructible.

 

He was mid standing up when she protested, "No. Someone with actual powers."

 

"Alright then." He looked to his list and went right to the bottom. "Turney."

 

A slim but still curvy girl made her way down the side steps, a sway in her hips, obviously confident.

 

She smiled at Tina as she flicked her red fringe out of her eyes.

 

"Alright Turney, you demonstrate your ability first."

 

She smiled and moved a little away from Tina. A chair was sitting next to the stands and she focused her attention on it. Then, she flicked her hands and out shot a green acid. It engulfed the chair, making it sizzle down to nothing but particles. It also reached a little of the floor, making small holes.

 

She shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry for the mess."

 

She moved back over to Tina and smiled triumphantly at the applause, her hands on her hips.

 

Suddenly, Geoff signalled to something at the edge of the room and a ball came flying at her, fast.

 

She wasn't quick enough and the ball hit her square in the face. She bounced back, rubbing her cheek, no longer smiling.

 

"Dayton, your ability."

 

Tina placed a hand gently on the other's shoulder and shut her eyes. After a few awkward moments, she opened her eyes. "Can we get something else for her to um...melt?"

 

Geoff signalled again and a man dragged out a chair.

 

Tina kept her hands on the red head's shoulder as she turned to the chair. She flicked her hands but all that came out were little spurts of acid like someone had lust stabbed her finger. She stared in shock at her hands like that was all she'd ever been able to do and she'd just had it taken away from her. She edged away from Tina and once again tried shooting at the chair, this time, succeeding.

 

"Very good ladies. You may take your seats." Geoff praised. This time, he decided to close his eyes and pick a random. Everyone inched forward in their seats. He opened his eyes, "Gruchy."

 

Gavin's head perked up, for only a second his face lit up, expecting his mate to swagger down the steps and impress everyone with his ability to shape shift into Mr. Ramsey and do a dumb impression that everyone would laugh at. But instead, he lowered his head into his hands and let the tears fall out.

 

Ray was next to him, rubbing his back. "Not here, sir."

 

Geoff's eyes flicked to where Gavin was crying, he understood. He signalled for another chair, on which he sat.

 

His voice became sincere, "Listen guys, I know things have been tough around here since...the incident. Maybe your friends were taken, just peers, or maybe even your family." He looked to Gavin again who was now leaning into Ray's shoulder and crying. He bit his lip. "The school doesn't want me telling you this but, I think it's only fair that you know. In this world, most of you will be trained for battle, only a few of you will ever have to face anymore fighting than just your everyday purse snatcher but still. Some people think it's wrong to train kids like yourselves for battle even though it is mandatory and you do get to choose which line of work you want to go in. For years these people were going at it. Rioting in the streets, threatening the higher ups, refusing to let their children get an education unless things changed. Only in the past four years has it been quiet. But it seems, as from the evidence, they've decided to strike back."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Michael go to research at the library but all they come up with is a temporary filter for their eyes.

"So it's an organisation that took Dan?" said Michael to himself as he paced the room.

"Michael!" Ray hissed, "Gavin's right here."

"No, it's fine." Gavin mumbled. He was sitting on his bed, reading a book.

"I wonder what they're gonna do with them. Maybe their delusional and think that they can just look after them and pretend they're a family." again, Michael muttered more to himself than the others. "Maybe they preparing them for a war." he shook his head, "No, that wouldn't make sense. They're trying to stop them from being trained."

"Why are you worrying about this so much?" Ray asked as he watched Michael walk back and forth about the room.

Michael paused and turned to him, his mouth open and slightly shaking his head, "You're joking right? I'm worried about our friends that were taken. I'm worried of the things those people will do to them. I'm worried that after all these years this organisation is finally gaining power. Enough power to do something big. And you're wondering why I'm worrying so much?"

Ray went to protest but Gavin spoke up, "He's right. We should be digging into this. Isn't it a bit odd that they also kidnapped inexperienced kids, freshmen who don't know the first thing about conjuring their powers, but they don't want to forcibly train them? How are they going to use freshmen in whatever strike back is coming?"

Ray looked to Gavin and then back to Michael who was staring at him smugly. He rolled his eyes and lay back down in his bed. "Just-don't get yourselves into any trouble with this stuff okay? Mr. Ramsey already stated that the school doesn't want this getting out. We were never supposed to know in the first place."

Michael sat right next to Ray's legs, "What do you mean ' _yourselves_ '?"

Ray looked at Michael and raised an eyebrow, then shook his head, "Oh no. No no no no no. You are _not_ dragging _me_ into this."

"But Ray, don't you wanna find Dan?" Gavin looked at him with glassy eyes.

This got him. Ray and Gavin had been friends since the first day of Elementary school. Gavin had always been there to cheer Ray up, with his stupid, goofy smile. He couldn't stand to see Gavin with anything but a smile.

He groaned, "I will do absolutely bare minimum. If it involves anything illegal, I'm out. In fact, Gavin, if it's going to get you in jail, you're out too. I can't say shit for Michael."

Michael and Gavin both smiled at each other as if they'd just jointly won a trophy.

"Hey, Michael. Did you want to go to the library to find out a little more about the riots." Gavin asked sheepishly. He was never really one to ask Michael for stuff.

"Yeah," he said, slipping on his flip flops, "better go now while it's still open."

Gavin did the same.

Ray groaned, "You guys don't know the first thing about the library. Do you even know where it is?"

Michael became quite defensive, "I mean, I know where it is."

Ray groaned even louder, "Geez!" he sat up and put on his shoes, "Come with me."

* * *

 

The went down the elevator and over to the girls' building. They waited out the front door. Ray pulled out his phone and dialled.

"Hey, it's Ray." "You know about books and stuff right?" "Could you help us. We're uneducated idiots that have no idea how to navigate the library." "We're...actually downstairs." "Yeah, right now." "Just Michael and Gavin." "They're not going to say anything." "I'm sure you look great." "Please, it's really important to them...to me." "You're amazing." "Thank you." He put the phone back in his pocket.

"Ray, do you really think we should be involving other people?" said Gavin.

"Trust me. She's not going to tell anyone. She's chill."

Gavin looked to Michael and raised his eyebrows. He just shrugged.

A few minutes later, Tina walked down in a jersey and sweatpants, her hair in a side-braid again. "I hate you." she mumbled.

She led the way towards the library. When they got in, the boys sighed thankfully at the cool air-conditioning. Summer in Texas was a bitch.

"Do you have something in particular you want to find?"

"Uh, maybe the historical section." Michael said.

Tina rolled her eyes, "Did you wanna be more specific?"

Gavin shook his head and looked to Michael to do the same.

"Nah." Michael tried to say nonchalant.

"Alright." she said with a hint of suspicion. She started walking faster in a straight line as if all the other shelves weren't there and she was very determined to get to one destination. "Here it is." She stopped in front of a long shelf. Every book seemed to be a shade of brown. Everything from here to here," she pointed to a shelf five spaces over, "is the historical section." she saw the boy's mouths hanging open and exhaled loudly, clearly annoyed. "Go crazy." She began walking away before Ray grabbed her arm.

"Don't leave me here with these two."

Again, she rolled her eyes (she had a habit of doing that). "I'm tired, Ray."

He visibly sunk, "Fine. I'll walk you back to your room."

Tina smiled like she'd been waiting for him to say that, not quite smug but also not surprised.

"Peace, guys."

Gavin whipped around from where he was pulling out a book, "Wait, what? Ray!" but Ray had already walked out. He turned back to Michael. "Where the bloody hell do we start?"

He shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to look at the titles and if it says anything about the organisation or revolutions or whatever kind of crap, get it out and have a read."

They began scanning the spines, occasionally taking out a book. After only an hour, the librarian told them they were closing.

Their vision was tinted brown.

"Did you find anything." Ray looked up from his 'History of Germany' book.

"I found out that people in England had a riot over how Yorkshire should be pronounced." Michael squinted at Gavin as if to say 'what the hell is wrong with you.'

"But nothing on the organisation." Gavin sighed.

"Well, get some rest because we've got gym tomorrow."

The boys both whined as they got dressed into their pyjamas and slumped into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaaaaay! Ray and Tina are the cutest! I've already written a bit of the next chapter. I'm having lot's of fun ^_^


	3. Team Placement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 2nd years are finally set their first mission and placed into certain teams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice the similarities to RWBY then that would be because I was listening to the soundtrack so you can blame Jeff Williams for his amazing geniusness.

The next few months were filled with days of training and theory work and then nights filled with page after page of jack shit. But finally, the day came when 2nd years were finally put into groups and assigned minor missions.

"Now," spoke Geoff from a high podium, "After three months of training the moment you've all been waiting for is here. After reviewing your on-field skills and knowledge of combat and surroundings us teachers went through the process of analysing and critiquing your abilities. And after a long month of sorting we have put each of you into teams of four. We have assigned a leader for each team. There will be no arguing, understood?"

A few people nodded but most just shot a worried look to their friend.

"When I call your name you will stand in a line in front of the soldier I say." he motioned towards the men in military suits standing at attention. "Megan Turney." Meg skipped down the steps and waited patiently, "Barbara Dunkelman. Ashley Jenkins. Jon Risinger." They all assembled on a group, "Soldier 3" one of the men raised their head and again, off skipped Meg, the others shuffling behind. "You team leader is Dunkelman." Meg stopped to scowl at the pretty blonde who pushed in front of her in the line they'd formed. They were escorted out of the hall. "Kdin Jenzen." a skinny kid with glasses nervously made his way down the front. "Matthew Bragg." There was a sob from somewhere in the crowd. The kid approached Geoff and whispered something. Kdin sat back down in his seat and Geoff cleared his throat, "Erm...Moving on, next team. Chris Demarais. Brandon Farmahini. Kyle Taylor. Blaine Gibson." There were a few hoots from the crowd as the last guy, Blaine, pranced down the stairs, smiling wide. "Soldier 1. Your team leader is Gibson." His team members slapped him in the back and a distinctly firls voice yelled out "Yeah, Blaine!" They were also escorted away. Geoff cleared his throat again. "Michael Jones." Michael smiled and took his place out the front. Everyone else held their breath to see who would be the lucky people on Rage Quit's team. "Ray Narvaez Jr. Tina Dayton." Ray blushed slightly as himself and Tina made their way down the steps. "And Kerry Shawcross."

Both Gavin and a short chubby kid stood, confused.

"Ray?" Gavin mumbled. "M-Micool?" He said a little louder now.

The chubby kid, Kerry, walked down cautiously.

"Soldier 2." Mr. Ramsey continued. "Your leader is Jones."

"Michael!" Gavin yelled as he stepped over peoples feet and ran towards the team that was already making their way over to their escort.

They turned around just as Gavin jumped on Michael.

"Hey, man." said Michael comfortingly, "It's alright, it's only for a few days at most. When we get back, we'll go straight to the library to do some more investigating, alright?"

Gavin nodded into his chest. "I'm scared. I miss Dan." he sobbed.

"I know. You can make it. I'm sure your team will look after you."

The military guy interrupted, "Is everything okay?"

Gavin broke away, "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." He turned to Ray, "Be safe, please." He whimpered on the last word like it would break him if anything bad happened to them.

Ray smiled as best he could, "You too."

The soldier began ushering the group out, Geoff's voice becoming fainter and fainter.

"Alright, next team. Jordan Cweirz. Patrick Rodrigeuz. Shane Newville. Gavin Free."

Ray scoffed, "Great. Gavin's with the nerds."

"Soldier 5. Your team leader is Free."

"And he's gotta lead them. God, give the guy a break."

"Have you ever even seem them fight?" said Kerry defensively, "For all you know they're going to have to save his ass all the time." 

Ray looked to Michael who was pacing beside him and raised his eyebrows. He just smirked.

As they all got into their airship, the soldier began explaining their mission.

"I'm Sargent Ellis, I'm here to guide you on this and all further expeditions. Today's mission is search and destroy. We're going to wipe some information stolen by a man named Vagabond.

Ray snickered under his breath, "Phsst, that;s a stupid name."

"We assume that'd his code name." said Ellis as he eyed the Hispanic boy who shrunk into his seat.

"Wi-Will their be guards?" Tina stuttered.

"Maybe one or two but it's not them you have to worry about, it's the motion sensors, the place has the highest level security money can get you. That's why Geo-Mr. Ramsey assigned you to this mission, he has categorized this group as mostly stealthy."

Ray laughed mockingly, "Yeah because Mr. 'Gets-angry-at-everything' over here is really the stealth master.

Michael shot him a nasty look.

"Jones is the last resort. Things do badly, we bring him in."

Michael smiled smugly, "See, I'm the badass of the group."

The others rolled their eyes.

"Sargent," said the pilot, "We are approaching our destination. E.T.A: 2 minutes."

"Alright guys, we're landing in a car park a few buildings away from Vagabond's apartment. Get ready." Ellis instructed.

Tina began breathing heavily.  Rya reached his foot across to tap hers and immediately, she calmed.

"Landing now Sargent."

"Alright kids, unbuckle."

They fumbled with their harnesses as the rear door crept open.

"Don't be nervous, it'll be fine. This is only a minor mission remember."  assured Ellis, "Just...don't trip off those motion detectors."


	4. Mission Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team begins their first mission. Stuff goes wrong, Kerry finds a bong, People jump off a building, the usual spy movie stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE: I transferred the fic from tumblr to here just because I thought it was just so much better.
> 
> WARNING: Mentions of underage drug use and nudity.

They quietly moved from building to building until they reached Vagabond’s apartment complex. They peaked in through the glass.  
  
“There’s a guy at the reception desk.” assessed Michael.  
  
“I have an idea,” said Tina, “Do you know you know what floor Vagabond is on?”  
  
“Of course,” Ellis chuckled, “Penthouse, where else?”  
  
“I’ll distract the reception guy and you two go up the elevator.” she ordered nervously. Ellis nodded, giving each of them an earpiece and leading Michael around the corner. Tina watched them go before taking out her plait and putting on her best smile. She took a deep breath and walked in, her hips swaying in the process. “Excuse me?” She said making clicking sounds with her tongue like she was chewing gum.  
  
“Uh…yes?” said the receptionist, looking Tina up and down.  
  
“So like, I was here the other day with my mom and I like left my phone here and stuff. Can I have it back?”  
  
“No one’s handed in a phone, sorry.”  
  
“Ugh. Can’t you like check in the back or something? Seriously, if you don’t find it I’m…I’m totally suing you.”  
  
Ray, who was waiting patiently next to the doors, smiled and let out a small chuckle.  
  
“Uh…I’ll just go and make a call to the girl who was on duty today. Wait here.” the man said as he moved into a room behind him.  
  
“Whatever.” she motioned for Ray and Kerry to hurry up.  
  
They shuffled quickly towards the elevator.  
  
As they were riding up to the top level, Ray broke the silence by asking Kerry, “So what’s your power?”  
  
“It’s nothing special really.” He said as he cracked his neck. He pinned his arms to his side so he was in a pencil shape and slowly, inch by inch, began to shrink, not vertically, but horizontally, until he was just a sheet of long coloured paper.  
  
Ray breathed amusingly, “Nice.”  
  
“You’re X-Ray right?”  
  
He chuckled, “That’s what the kids are calling me these days, huh?”  
  
“Penthouse Suite.” Rang the electronic voice of the elevator, opening the doors to a luxury apartment. There were ornaments worth thousands, paintings worth millions and…oh boy, the security system this place had was clearly worth billions.  
  
“There’s nothing. No lasers, no guards, no alarms.” Kerry observed moving forward, Ray stuck his arm out stopping him .

“Don’t be so sure.” He focused his vision, his eyes crossing slightly. They began to glow a faint fluro green. “Seriously?” He whined, “Literally nothing.”  
  
“Makes our job easier.” Kerry’s eyes averted to the large cylindrical object sitting on a coffee table. He whispered to Ray, “Hey, look.”  
  
Ray turned around to where Kerry was holding up the object, a bong, of course.  
  
“Woah, man, Just Blaze, dude.” He said in his best stoner voice.  
  
Ray laughed quietly, “Dude, pass it here. I’m sure he won’t miss this right? Guy like this could probably afford bongs for the whole city.”  
  
Kerry shrugged and passed it to him, “Anyway, where do you think his computer is?”  
  
“Dunno, his room maybe? Let’s go down this hallway, you check all the left doors, I’ll check the ones on the right."  
  
He nodded and followed Ray down the dark corridor. One by one they opened the doors, checked all the draws for a laptop and moved on to the next. Finally, Ray opened his last door and paused, “Kerry, you’re gonna want to look at this.”  
  
He joined him at staring into the room. “Which computer are we supposed to wipe?” The room was filled with screens, the walls were literally made from monitors. Each one projected the same thing, a red screen with the logo, “Vagabond Industries” highlighted in Black and Gold.  
  
“Have you guys found the computer?” rang Ellis’ voice through the earpieces.  
  
“Uh…yeah, we found his computer alright. Which one has the information on it is the question we have to ask?”  
  
“Is there one that looks out of place?” asked Tina.  
  
In sync, the boys’ eyes averted to the one computer in the middle of the room. The only one in the ground.  
  
“Think we found it.” Kerry said as he put on his gloves. “Hacking is commencing.” He pressed enter and brought up the home screen. “Ellis, I thought you said this place was supposed to have top security.”  
  
“That’s what I thought. When we were scoping it out, my guys were caught in a trap set outside the apartment.”  
  
Ray looked at the folder titled ‘Private.’ and snorted, “Hah! I guarantee you, that’s where he keeps his porn. Wanna take a peek at the weird shit he’s probably in to?”  
  
“Guys, keep on track please. I can’t keep the receptionist busy for much longer.” said Tina impatiently,watching the door the man in his late 30's went through for any movements.  
  
“Just show him your boobs.” Ray casually remarked, picking up and examining a coffee mug that had ‘worlds best dad’ written across it in bold print while Kerry did all the work.  
  
“Ray!” she squawked a little too loud, “I’m freaking fifteen you idiot. That’s illegal.”  
  
“And breaking into an apartment isn't?”  
  
“Guys, please, keep on track.” said Ellis getting nervous about how much time they were taking.  
  
“I found it sir. Clearing information now.” As soon as Kerry hit enter, alarms started to wail.  
  
“What did you guys do?!” Tina yelled as she ran out of the building to where Ellis and Michael were waiting, “You have attracted a crap ton of attention, guys. There’s about three trucks coming around the corner, all marked with ‘Vagabond Industries’”  
  
“Kerry, hurry up!” Ray cried out over the screeching sirens.  
  
Kerry was panicking, hitting all sorts of buttons. “It’s stopped clearing. The computers gone into lock down.”  
  
“They’re entering the building, guys.” Michael notified.   
  
“Screw it.” He ripped the CPU and all of its cords from the monitor and pushed Ray out the door.  
  
“You can’t come down the elevator or stairs! They’re already coming up those.” said Tina hurriedly.  
  
“There’s literally no other exit. What the hell are we supposed to do?!” howled Kerry as they heard the elevator tick, “41, 42, 43”  
  
Ray puffed out his chest and said in the most courageous voice he could, “We stand, and we fight.”  
  
Kerry grunted, “Yeah, okay Superman.”  
  
“I have an idea. Go out on the deck and wait.” said Ellis.  
  
The two sprinted out and waited as close to the rail as possible, praying that whatever Ellis had planned, it’d happen quickly.  
  
“48,49, Penthouse Suite.” Men burst through the elevator and then shortly after, the stairwell. Immediately, they notice the two panicking boys and begin inching forward slowly, guns raised. “Stand down and we won’t shoot.” Spoke the man leading the group.  
  
As if on cue, a giant gush of wind swept throughout the apartment. The Airship pulled up outside the deck. “You two, jump in.” Ellis instructed.  
  
“What? You want us to literally jump off the balcony? Do you see how nonathletic we are?” said Ray.  
  
“We literally opened the back door and backed up the the very edge idiot. We made a ramp for you. Sack up and jump.” said Michael.  
  
“Don’t move!” the man warned again.  
  
Kerry squeezed his eyes shut briefly and pushed himself over the rail, landing on the hanger door.  
  
“Fuuuuuuuuck.” Ray groaned as he braced himself to jump off. Just as he pushed himself up on top of the railing, the front man grabbed his arm. Ray tried hitting him and pushing him off but the man did not comply. “Ger-off.” he grumbled. In the heat of the moment he twisted around and hit him as hard as he could with the bong they’d found. Immediately, the man fell to the ground, out cold. Ray pushed off and landed on the loading dock.  
  
“Get in.” said Michael, helping him get to his feet. He looked to Ray’s weapons and rolled his eyes, “You might want to hide that before Ellis sees.”  
  
Ray carefully placed it underneath a jacket. They all buckled in and waited patiently, their hearts still racing from the events of the night.  
  
“You did good Kerry.” praised Ellis as he inspected the CPU.  
  
“I’m hoping this did it…” Kerry grumbled.  
  
“It’s back to school for you guys now. I’ll see you all on your next mission.” Ellis smiled proudly as they zoomed off back home.


	5. Just Blaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin arrives home and Ray smokes dat 'urb as well as discovers an important detail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones a bit more in depth look at the boys and their lives and feelings and stuff.

As they touched down and filed out of the airship towards their rooms, Michael and Ray found that Gavin's had not yet returned, so Ray went over to Tina's and Michael went to Geoff's office.

"Sir," he began to Mr. Ramsey, "what was Gavin's mission?"

"Free, right?" asked Geoff, "Gavin David Free?"

"Yes, sir."

Geoff checked his list, "Ah, team GPSJ. Looks like they were sent out on a capture raid. They just had to bring these two wannabe drug lords to the cops. They should be back soon. Trouble is, they had to find them first. That Newville kid's got the power to know someone's DNA pattern upon touch with any bodily fluids. The wannabe's got into a gun fight and shed a little blood. They've been searching all night. They found a match early this morning." His phone lit up with a message, "Hey, looks like they're all done. They'll be back in about fifteen minutes." he put the phone down and looked to Michael, "And how did your mission go?"

He drooped down a little in his chair, "I didn't even get to do anything." he sulked.

"I'm sorry, Michael but your skills are much too advanced to just show them off around town. We debated even putting you on a team. You're basically our end of the world plan." said Geoff as sympathetically as he could.

"Fuck the world. I wish it would just burn already." he grumbled.

"Geoff," said Jack, peeping in the doorway, "may I speak with you for a minute?"

The teacher nodded and smiled lazily at Michael.

With a roll of his eyes, Michael got up and pushed past Jack.

Before walking into his bedroom, he went over to the girls building to fetch Ray.

Upon seeing his friends aggravated face, Ray asked "Do you want to go and wait for Gavin?"

"Yeah...Yeah, let's go out and wait." Michael mumbled, still a little pissed off about the previous conversation.

As they waited patiently for the airship containing their friend in the cool rainy weather, Ray asked Michael cautiously, "Are you alright buddy?"

"Hm?"

"You seem a little...annoyed." "Oh. It wasn't you or anything," he reassured the other, "It's just...I'm tired of doing nothing. People have only heard the stories of 'Rage Quit'. The kid that can go from human to beast in a second. But I don't think I single person here has seen it happen. They just take the word of the rumors I had Mr. Ramsey start."

Ray sighed, "I beg to differ. Remember when I spilled red bull over your diorama last year. I was ninety percent sure you weren't human in that moment. Your eyes went red for gods sake."

Michael smiled, "I'm not human Ray. At least not...fully human. I was artificially made remember. Just built by a bunch of madmen really. Sometimes it sucks, not being able to relate to others. I'm surprised I even have friends at this point. I'm an asshole, really."

Ray hit his shoulder and tittered, "I'll be the first to admit that you're a giant asshole. But you're still pretty cool, I guess."

Just as he finished, the huge gust of wind notified the boys that their friend had arrived. And sure enough, the minute the door hit the ground, Gavin slid down, his smile wide and goofy looking. He ran across the tar mac to great both of his friends, wrapping an arm around both of their necks. "I'm still alive." he said proudly.

"Hells yeah you are buddy." said Ray pulling away and looking at Gavin like a proud father. "Hey, come one, we'll go back to the room and you can tell us all about it."

"Wait," he said before the two could lead him off. He ran off to his team who were also walking down. He dragged them by their shirts over to his friends. "Guys, I want you to meet my team. This is Patrick," a short chubby kid waved awkwardly, "this is Shane," a shy looking boy lifted his head and smiled briefly before staring back at a puddle, "and this is Jordan, he can draw things with his mind and make them appear. It's freaking awesome. But he can only use it a little per day. If he makes something really big then he just kind of...passes out." 

"Thanks, Gavin." said Jordan, a lanky kid in a flannel shirt, sarcastically. "Rage Quit and X-Ray huh? You guys were probably sent out on a pretty big mission."

Before they could say anything Gavin butted in, his tone a little disappointed, "You know, we're a trio. Rage Quit, X-Ray and Vav." Gavin knew it himself, that he was just living in a shadow. His whole life he'd tried to be Dan's equal. He tried impressing people the boxing moves he'd learned from the Rocky movie. His power was pretty cool, he was able to mimic anything he'd see. But Dan's power of Shape-shifting always took everyone's eye. They would crowd around and cheer "Me next! Me next!" and Dan would move through them all, doing the exact same thing, transforming into their copy and doing a dumb impression. And when he heard the famous Michael Vincent Jones was going to be his roommate as well as Ray and Dan...well it has hell for him, always being excluded. He kept it all bottled up though. He always had smiles to give out. He had a laugh that made everyone else cheerful. And then Dan was taken...and his smile faded. He only ever gave those rare smiles for Ray...and now only recently, Michael. 

"Right." said Jordan awkwardly. "Anyway, I should probably be getting back to my room...God knows what my roommate's have done."

"Us too, Vav." said Ray to the boy who's smile had faded.

As soon as they got to the room and Gavin had told them all about his mission and using a wrestling move called "Flying Clothesline" he'd seen on WWE, Gavin was quick to ask Michael to the library. "I really don't want to right now Gavin." moaned Michael.

"Please, we're going to get something this time! I can feel it!" Gavin said encouragingly to which Michael just moaned louder.

"Oh, just go." said Ray, annoyed by their bickering, "I'm going to be hitting the pipe anyway, and I know how much you hate the smell."

Again, if it was even possible, Michael groaned louder, "Whatever." he left reluctantly with Gavin, grabbing his coat.

Ray took out the weed he still had as a present from ages ago from underneath the floorboards and reached under his bed for his newly acquired bong. He shoved the green inside along with some water and grabbed his lighter. He opened a window to let the smell be whisked away and sat comfortably on his bed. With one swift flick of the lighter he placed the fire to the small hole, and breathed in the fumes. He'd felt stressed out his whole life. Felt like he had to keep up the family. So when he moved away to Austin, he felt the constant pressure of his family falling apart. He found drugs were the only way to relax him, he could forget about things for a few minutes as he let the calming thoughts circle through his head. He tried making hoops as he blew the smoke out. As he admired the little rings in their long rectangular mirror, he noticed something on the front of the bong, a shape etched into it. It looked like...like a crown with a sword...or an ax in it. Ray frowned, god that looked familiar. He grabbed his phone to text Michael a photo of it when a voice in the back of his head told him to check his gallery. And there it was. The red, spray painted crown with a sword indentured into it, taken the morning Dan was kidnapped. He threw the bong onto the ground out of excitement and ran out of the room, his head still buzzing. He ran straight to Michael and Gavin, taking out his phone and showing them, breathlessly.

"What the fuck are we looking at Ray?" said Michael unimpressed by the horrid smell on Ray's breath. 

"It the symbol. That activism's symbol."

He took the phone from the stoners hands and looked closer. "Holy shit. It is."

Gavin smiled triumphantly, "Told you we'd find something!"

"Yeah, anyway. I want to take a closer look at it, see if it has anything etched underneath." Michael said, making his way back to their room.

When they opened the door, Ray's smile faded. In his haste, he had dropped the pipe and it had shattered, spilling Marijuana and it's juice all over the carpet. "Fuck I'm sorry guys..."

Michael wanted to gag at the smell, "Do...something...about this...now." he ordered in between hasty breathes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first I was kind of hating this chapter because I had no idea what to do with it. Now I'm pretty happy with it. Hope you all enjoyed <3


	6. Coffee...date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh the teenage angst. Also, Ray goes on a date but kind of not really a date with Tina where they discover something big.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some of my own headcanons in this and I'm really sorry if it seems very OOC because I know some of it is but...yeah...I hope you still enjoy anyway!
> 
> Also, I really wanted it to be snowing right now but I remembered they're in Texas so...Just try to imagine it's all pretty and snowing kay?

Of course the smell never came out of the carpet, and of course they just had to have a surprise inspection the day after, Of course Mr. Pattillo smelt it, I mean, the smell made Michael want to vomit every time he walked in. They all received afternoon detentions for 2 months. They would also not be attending the next mission.

"Thanks, idiot." Michael spat at Ray as he scrubbed at the graffiti in the toilets one afternoon.

"Hey! At least I found something! You guys had been searching for 4 months and still didn't find jack-shit." said Ray defensively, "I'm starting to wonder whether you can even really read." he mumbled.

Michael ditched his bucket of detergent and stood. He stormed angrily into Ray's cubical. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Ray also stood, putting on as brave of a face he could as his friend's eyes began to drift from brown to red. "I said, at least _I_ found something."

"That's what I thought, dick head." Michael grumbled as he went back to his own stall.

"And that I think the scientists must have left out your brain." Ray mumbled again.

That did it. Michael grabbed his bucket of detergent and was about to unleash the much onto Ray when Gavin grabbed his arm.

"Stop!" he shouted, "Both of you. We shouldn't be bickering. We should be finding out what Vagabond has got to do with the organisation."

Slowly, Michael calmed and his eyes averted back to their original chocolate colour. "Yeah...Let's talk about that." He cleared his throat and shot Ray a nasty look before going back to scrubbing.

"So what do you guys think?" Gavin asked.

"While we were in his apartment, one room had a crap ton of screen, I'm willing to bet they're for surveillance." said Ray.

Gavin thought for a moment before finally suggesting, "I think we should go back and look a little deeper."

Ray almost chocked on his shock, "Are you fucking kidding me? I barely made it out alive last time. Even if I would let us go, there's no way we'd get permission from Mr. Ramsey."

"Who says we'd need Mr. Ramsey's permission?"

"Gavin, how else do you suppose we'd get all the way out to Vagabond's apartment without being caught?"

There was silence. Gavin thought long and hard, _'Can any of us drive? No. Do any of us know someone trustworthy who can drive? Not really. Damnit...'_ "Maybe you shouldn't be so lazy. We can walk you know."

"And when do you suppose we do this?" 

"We'll go during the night. So no one notices."

"I am walking _not_ around town in the middle of the night with a bunch of psychopaths kidnapping kids. Nor am I letting you."

Gavin raised his voice, "You don't own me Ray."

"Oh really? Cause it sure as hell seems like it. Who's the one that has to take care of your cry baby ass every time you want to have a wah over something? Who has to always include you in things other wise you'd whine about being left out? Face it Gavin, no one gives a shit about you."

"RAY!" Michael roared as they all exited their cubicles.

Gavin's lip was quivering, his eyes were swelling with tears, "I tried so hard Ra..." he trailed off as a tear rolled down his cheek, "My best frie..." He wiped away the tear and looked at Ray angrily, "You're a prick." he snapped before exiting the bathroom quickly.

"God damn, Ray. What is your problem?" said Michael as he shook his head and followed Gavin out.

So Ray went back to his cubical and furiously scrubbed at the drawings on the walls.

* * *

When Ray returned back to their room, Gavin and Michael weren't there. "Good." He muttered to himself. He jumped in the shower and scrubbed off the distinct smell of bleach from his body. When he was finished, he wrapped a towel around his lower half and slumped onto his bed. He was just about to browse through youtube when the buzzer phone rang. ' _Gavin and Michael can let themselves up?_ ' he thought as he got up and answered the caller, "Hello?"

"Hey, Ray." said Tina, "So, I know you said I shouldn't worry about what you guys were doing at the library and stuff but I did so I got the librarian to check what books your friends were reading and then I kind of put two and two together and I was thinking, you know how Mr. Ramsey told us that the school didn't want us knowing about everything? Well, maybe they erased everything about the organisation from the library. So, what's another way to research?" 

"Uh..."

"The internet of course." she said before Ray could answer. "And the school can't possibly touch the internet."

"Oh, Tina, you're a genius!" Ray praised, "Thank you so much. Dude, I have to go. I'll talk to you later?"

"Oh..." she said disappointedly, "I was actually wondering if...we could go to the library...and I could help...Or we could go get some hot chocolate and research at Starbucks."

Ray blushed, "Oh. Yeah, sure. I'll be down in a minute."

He rushed about the room trying to find something fitting. ' _Is this a date?_ ' he thought worriedly, ' _Oh my God, what do I wear on a date?_ ' he found a blue button up shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. ' _But what if it's not a date and I go down in this and she thinks I'm trying to suggest something?_ ' he grabbed a green shirt with some gaming logo on it and a pair of regular blue jeans. ' _What the fuck do I do?_ ' he held both outfits in his hands and looked back and forth between them both, ' _Uh..._ ' he tossed the blue jeans and the button up shirt and decided to mix it. He chucked on the green shirt on the black skinny's and grabbed his laptop as he rushed out the door and down the elevator. He greeted Tina with an awkward smile.

"Which shall it be then? Starbucks or the library?" she said.

"Starbucks." he answered, "I could use a warm drink in this weather."

 As they walked to the coffee shop, Tina asked, "So what subjects do you think you're going to choose?"

Ray frowned, he really hadn't thought about that. "I guess like spy tech and safety and the kick-ass course...maybe some other stuff." he said, unsure.

"Nothing theory related huh?"

Ray lowered his head, "No," he said quietly. "I don't really learn very well with theory work. My brain just...it needs like...the learning experience needs to be fun for me...other wise it all kind of just flies straight past my head."

"Oh...well, I'm going into on-field nursing. Also, psychology and handling. And uhm...maybe heavy duty tech and safety." she said.

"Heavy duty?" Ray question as he smirked.

She smiled, "Well I've always wanted to go into the military as a doctor or something but Heavy Duty Tech & Safety is one of the courses needed to apply for the military so..."

"Huh..." He sighed, "I just learn more and more about you everyday."

She hid her blush under her large fluffy hood.

When they arrived at Starbucks they both ordered their drinks and found a table big enough to fit both their laptops.

"Right, so, what should we search up first?" Ray asked, his cursor blinking in the Google search bar.

"I guess we'll start with reports on the school kidnapping and go from there." said Tina as she sipped on her iced coffee.

They both found little bits of information which they jotted down. But finally, Tina hit the Jackpot.

"Woah, Ray...Look at this." she turned her laptop towards him. He read the article with the picture of a man with thin, blonde hair and a sly smirk on his face pinned to the side.

_'Ryan Haywood is a rising political figure. His beliefs on young peoples rights have recently been brought back to light after recent events of a High School kidnapping. In an interview he said, "...although I think abducting children is going a little too far I agree with what this organisation of rebels is trying to prove. They are rescuing teenagers who would other wise be sentenced to a life of hurt and war. I only hope that instead of being scared, this teenagers stand up and help the rebels and show that this is not the life young kids want. They said it and I'll continue saying it, change will happen..."'_

"What're you thinking?" Ray asked Tina after he finished.

"Just that he seems a little too enthusiastic with the rebels. Either he's working with them, or he's working for them." she said before yawning, "We'll look more into this tomorrow. You go home and tell Michael and Gavin."

"RIght," he said, a little sadly as he remembered the incidents of earlier today, "I'll walk you back."

He dropped her off at the front of the girls dorms and made his way over to the boys'. He tried pushing open the glass door but it didn't budge. He searched his pockets for his keycard and sighed, "ah, shit." in his haste to see Tina he'd forgotten to bring his keycard. He held his breath and dialled their dorm number.

"Yo?" said Michael.

"Hey, it's Ray. Can you let me up...I forgot my keycard."

"Hmf," Michael scoffed, "and why should I do that, you just gonna tell Gavin he's a piece of shit or me that I'm fucking stupid?"

"No I...I'm really sorry Michael. I was just agitated that's all. I didn't mean it." he tried pleading.

"Phsst." Michael derided. "Where were you anyway?"

Ray perked up a little, "You're gonna love this. Tina came over and said we should check the internet and so we did and we found a crap ton of stuff and something really important that I can maybe share with you if you let me in..." although he couldn't see, he could just picture Michael rolling his eyes.

"Fine." he finally said as he pressed the button which unlocked the door.

As soon as Ray started telling the two others about his findings the boys decided to forgive him and they spent the night discussing theories.


	7. Snow Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone goes down to the lake for some fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so basically i really reeeaaaally wanted it to snow in the story so please, just ignore that they're in Texas and just ya know, roll with it.

The boys decided that night to take a peek into Vagabond's apartment during the next mission, much to Ray's reluctance. The next week, two weeks before Christmas break, Sophomore's were swarmed with Subject Selection. The teachers were insistent that they try out everything. Ray decided on Spy Tech & Safety, along with Gavin, The Kick-Ass Course, with Michael, Risky Business (a guide on how to be brave in courageous situations), Crime Stoppers, as well as Control & Handling. Michael chose all of the military based ones, although he could have wanted to go into something a little less brutal, the scientists which created him would suggest otherwise, he was created to be on the front lines after all. Gavin took as many classes with his friends as he could, he chose every class with Ray except The Kick-Ass Course which he thought was maybe a little too extreme for himself, instead, he chose nursing.

As they finished up their last lesson of the day with Mr. Pattillo he said, "Alright everyone. Enjoy your 2 week break. Remember to read, don't just let your brain slack."

The guys decided to go down to the lake behind their dorm for a celebration, they invited a few other people along, who also invited people, who also invited their friends, so it ended up being a school event basically. They found a free spot and flicked out a blanket to sit on and lay down comfortably. 

"Blaine, oH MY GOD!" Meg squealed as Blaine playfully pushed her over the frozen river. "You're a fucking jackass." she shoved him and he fell into the snow.

"Hey, guys." said Tina as she lay down beside Ray and watched the other groups play flirtingly.

Gavin stared intently as Blaine tugged Meg's arm gently and she toppled onto him, something bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he narrowed his eyes.

"So, Christmas? What are you guys doing?" Tina asked.

"Eh, I'm going back to New York to see my family. The thing I do every year." shrugged Ray.

Michael sighed and closed his eyes, "I'm staying here of course...got no where else to go."

Gavin perked up onto his side so he was looking over Michael, "You should come to my place in England! Oh then you can meet my parents! Oh, you're going to love them!"

Michael groaned, "Gavin, I can't even stand you, what makes you think I can stand a whole country full of you."

The brit frowned and sat up, his excited tone drooped down into a disappointed murmur, "Right, well...It was just a suggestion..."

Michael rolled his eyes, "Listen, Gav. I would love to join you and your family for Christmas." Gavin smiled again, "But, I can't. I literally can't. Dr. Burns won't let me...none of them will."

"Oh..." Gavin looked at his friend sympathetically, he could here the sadness in his voice.

"Eh, it's fine, Mr. Ramsey always lets me cut off the first turkey leg so it's all good."

"This one year, my mum actually let me cut the turkey but when I went to cut a slice off, I slipped and the piece went right into Dan's..." Gavin trailed off, his eyes became distant and they began to gather tears.

"Hey, Gav, it's al-" Ray began comforting but was cut off by a fearful screech.

"Meg!" screamed the blonde haired girl, Barbara. "Someone help! She fell through the ice!"

"Holy shit." whispered Ray.

Blaine immediately reacted and slammed his fists onto the ice, the lake melted into boiling water. A short kid with barely any hair jumped in.

"Jeremy!" yelled the guy who's name everyone had learnt at the first Team Placement ceremony, Kdin. But when his friend, Jeremy, submerged from the water with Meg over his shoulder, he was different, he was shimmering, he was...transparent, he was...made out of water? But no one had time to focus on that as he brought Meg onto the snow, she was unconscious.

People crowded around, Ray pushed them out of the way and crouched beside her. His eyes began glowing the faint green. "She's obviously got a lot of water in her lungs...looks like she's also got some pretty bad burns. Are we the luckiest people alive today and a healer just happens to be here?" he assessed before looking to the crowd.

One guy cleared his throat and came to their aid, "Yeah...Yeah, I'm one." he said.

Ray shuffled aside to make room for him, "Work your magic then...what's your name?"

"Caleb," he introduced as he took Meg's wrist firmly in his hand. The mob of people watched in awe as a pink mist engulfed her body, the burns slowly crippling away into scabs.

"Why is she still not waking up?" Barbara panicked.

"Oh..." it clicked in Caleb's mind, "I-I can only heal physical injuries...She's still got water in her lungs...her brain cells will shut down in a few seconds...I-I never learnt how to do CPR." 

"Fuck..." Blaine whimpered, "Does anyone here know how to do CPR?" he called out.

Gavin's fists tightened and he took a deep breath. _'Fuck yeah,'_ he thought, _'I knew watching Grey's Anatomy would pay off.'_ He pushed passed those in front of him and knelt down. _'I can do this.'_ He reassured himself as he placed his palms on her chest and pressed down once, twice, three times all the way till twenty-three. At that last compression, Meg shot up, coughing up water and wheezing. Her arms wrapped around Gavin's neck instinctively to stable herself. Gavin, being the skinny twig that he his, toppled forward onto her. Finally, she came to and began breathing normally. She noticed the distinct weight on her stomach and looked down. Gavin had his head pinned to her tummy. She relaxed her arms and brought them up to her sides to sit herself up. "What happened?" she mumbled.  _  
_

Barbara crouched down beside her and ran her fingers comfortingly through her team mates hair. "You fell through the ice. Blaine tried to save you but his emotions kind of took over and he may have made the water a little too hot. That guy." she pointed to Jeremy, "Dived in and brought you out. You had some pretty bad burns but we fixed that. This dude," she nodded towards Gavin, at which Gavin said his name, "right, Gavin, saved you."

Meg smiled gratefully at him, her eyes not full of the usual "I'm hot shit" look but a generally thankful twinkle. "Thank you." she said, "Thank you so much." she said again, her eyes beginning to gather tears. "You saved my life. You're my hero." she cried hysterically, throwing herself back onto Gavin. Gavin smiled smugly, he knew it was wrong but all he could think was _"Bloody fucking yes, Meg Turney is hugging me right now."_ He almost cried when Barbara had to pull her back, and take her to the first aid room.

When he snapped out of his trance, he noticed the crowd had subsided, leaving only his friends. He smiled triumphantly at which Michael shook his head, "You're a fucking moron." he said, helping the Brit up. 

"Did you see that?" said Gavin cheerfully, "Turney just thanked me. I saved her life. I'm her hero." he said with a dreamy tone.

 The others just chuckled, "Alright, Spider-man." laughed Ray.


	8. Christmas Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time which means it's finally time for Geoff's annual Christmas dinner. A few familiar faces as well as surprise guests are invited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CHANGED THE TITLE I KNOW GUYS. I'M SORRY I JUST NEEDED TO CHANGE IT. (In case you didn't know the story used to be called 'Anti-Heroes') Sorry if anyone seems OOC! I wasn't quite sure how to write some people.

Finally, it was Christmas time. Ray flew to New York on the 20th and Gavin went back to the UK the next day. Michael was left alone with only a few unlucky ones. Gavin had told him to make friends with Jordan who had to stay behind as his parents were "extremely busy with work"; or at least that's what he said. 

Michael went straight to Geoff’s office as soon as he got back to school. “So, what’re we doing for Christmas this year?” he asked excitedly.

“Well, we’re going to have dinner with Jack.” Geoff’s smile faded a little, “I may have also invited Burns but that’s only because he insisted and after all he did kind of make you so it only seemed right.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He grumbled.

“I’ve also invited someone very special who’s coming to talk about your future.” Geoff added.

Michael began walking out, “I already know my future.” He said, “It’s war. I’m a weapon to win wars for someone else.”

Michael kicked around in the snow. He threw snowballs at a ghost and made snow angels by himself.

“You’re doing it wrong.” said a voice from behind him as he attempted to mould the bottom of a snowman. “You’re supposed to roll up the snow first and then shape it. Not just plop on more and more balls of snow.”

Michael turned around, a poisonous look in his eyes, it was Jordan. “It’s a fucking snowman, there’s no proper way to build it.”

“No but there is an easier way. Also a faster way.” He kneeled next to Michael and began following his own instructions. In no time, the bottom of his snowman was in perfect form.

Michael rolled his eyes, “Whatever,” and continued to try and do it his own way.

“You should come to my room for Christmas. My dad bought me an Xbox and I was just going to play Halo on that.” Offered Jordan.

“Can’t. I have plans.”

Jordan’s tone turned solemn, “Oh…Okay…Have fun…”

Again, Michael rolled his eyes and inaudibly groaned, “Would you like to join me for Christmas dinner at Mr. Ramsey’s house?”

Jordan couldn't hide his smile, "Oh, if it's not too much trouble of course!" he said. "So, why are you stuck here anyway?"

Michael poked a stick into the stomach of the snowman. "Because I have no where else to go...My family is here...Geo-Mr. Ramsey...Mr. Pattillo...They're the ones that raised me..."

"Oh..." Jordan became quite. He went to lay a hand on Michael's shoulder but instead decided against it, he looked more angry than upset. He stopped building his Snowman and instead watched Michael, how his hands were so forceful with the snow like he wanted to strangle it and break it to pieces. "I wasn't raised by my birth parents either...they were always too busy. I was raised by my nanny, she was pretty cool. She used to let me watch cartoons before I went to bed. That's how I got into drawing, that's how I discovered my power." he said.

Michael turned his head towards Jordan and asked, "Can I see it?"

Jordan's brow furrowed, "Hm?"

"Can I see your power...like, in action?"

"Sure, I guess so." he said, standing up and taking out a pen from his pocket, "The pen helps me to be more accurate." He poked the pen into the air like a wand and began drawing circles starting from the bottom, one big circle, on top of that, a smaller one and then finally the smallest one. He drew small dots on the middle circle and then a few more on the top one in the shape of a smiley face. Finally, he pulled away and a transparent snowman came to life in front of them. 

"Dude, that's awesome!" Michael praised, scrambling to his feet and going to touch it but his hand went right through, "Huh?"

"Sorry, I could make it have colour and therefore make it whole but that kind of takes a lot of energy out of me."

"No, it's honestly cool all the same." Michael knocked it over and laughed.

Jordan smiled, he made Rage Quit laugh. Michael "mad-about-everything" Jones was laughing and smiling. This was weird but also wonderful. Maybe the rumors were wrong...

Through the next few days, Michael went over to Jordan's room to play Xbox and Jordan came over to Michael's to talk and watch dumb videos. But eventually, it was Christmas day. Jordan ran into Michael's room and pulled off his blanket, "Wake up bitch!" he yelled. 

Michael was up and ready to punch him but then he looked in the doorway and the feeling faded, Geoff was there, smiling with presents in hand. "Merry Christmas, Jones." he said, placing the presents beside him. "This one's from me." He tore into it to reveal a pair of aviator sunglasses, "You told me once that you wanted to wear the coolest sunglasses while the 'epicest' explosion happened behind you. So I got these, I made them heat proof." Michael put them on, they fit perfectly and suited him. Geoff handed him the next present, "This one is from Jack." Michael groaned, "Great. We all know that this one will be awesome right." Geoff just laughed. The package felt soft and squishy, Inside was, a brown leather jacket with a wolf on the back. "It's bulletproof." Michael put it on, it was comfy as shit. "The last one is from Burnie..." he said, cautiously handing him the last present. Reluctantly, Michael opened ripped the package. Inside was a smooth black box. He opened the box to a pair of black leather gloves. Almost like biker gloves but fancier. The had holes over the knuckles but covered the fingers." They're energy saving gloves. If you're wearing them and you put all your power into them, then your punches will deal a lot more damage. He slipped them on. With those, the jacket and the sunglasses, he was looking fresh.

"Dude!" said Jordan, "You look _cool_."

Michael looked at himself in the mirror, "Wait till the lads see this. I look fucking awesome." 

Geoff chuckled, "Alright well, you guys ready to go?"

Michael took off his new presents and followed, along with Jordan, out the door.

* * *

Geoff's house was somehow always warm even in winter. The walls were decked out with tinsel and baubles and the tree in the living room was ginormous. Jack was there drinking along with Geoff. Michael and Jordan sat next to them at the table and watched them laugh and laugh. But eventually, it was time for Geoff to put the finishing touches on his pre-prepared banquet. 

So as he left for the kitchen, Jack turned his attention towards the boys. "How're you guys finding Sophomore year so far?" he asked.

Jordan was a little more awkward, he just replied with a simple, "Good."

Michael however decided to go on a rant, "It's crap. Ray does one stupid thing and you punish the rest of us. You think we didn't try to stop him from smoking? We aren't even in the room most of the time. Why should Gavin and I have to miss out on the mission when it was Ray's fault. And anyway, that means Tina and Kerry miss out as well because it's kind of obvious that they wouldn't be jack shit without us..." he went on and on.

Jack just rolled his eyes to Jordan who smiled. Michael was cut off short by a knock at the door. "Jack, can you get that?!" yelled Geoff. Jack stood and made his way to the door, opening it suspenseful. "Nice to see you." He said, shaking whoever's hand it was. "He's here, Geoff!" Jack yelled back as he opened the door wider to let in the man. Michael's heart sank and he spun back around in his chair so he was facing away from the door. He had hoped Burnie had forgotten. Of course, he sat right next to Michael, a smile on his face, "Hey buddy." he said cheerfully, "How's school been. Geoff's been telling me you're doing really great. We're all really proud of you back at the lab."

"Yeah, it's fine." Michael grumbled.

"Although, we wish you'd have chosen better friends. We heard that that Narvaez kid got you into trouble and you can't participate in the next mission! And well, is Gavin really who you want by your side while fighting? I mean, he's a good kid but he's a little bit of a wimp."

Michael bit his lip, he felt the words he went to yell trapped in his throat.

"We really miss you you know, Michael. We wish you'd come visit us more often, I mean as your dad I-"

"You're _not_ my parent." he spat.

Burnie sunk his head. Luckily, Geoff walked in with two dishes on hand. 

"Uhm, Burnie, I think there was someone that you wanted to Michael to meet?" he said quickly.

"Oh, right. Michael," he motioned towards a man standing behind them, with all the thoughts of Burnie and the others, Michael hadn't noticed another man walk in with him. He turned around to a somehow familiar face, where did Michael know him from? "this is Mr. James Ryan Haywood. He's a politician. He has something he'd like to share with you."

' _James?_ ' Michael thought, ' _Wait, Ryan Haywood!_ ' it suddenly clicked, that was the guy that Tina found on the internet, the suspicious guy. He stood and shook the mans hand, "It's nice to meet you."

"I can say with confidence that I have been waiting a long time to meet you. I was there the day you were created, although then I was just a teenager, about your age actually." He spoke with a deep voice, much like Jack's, he took a seat where Burnie was before and said, "I have a proposition for you. I run an organisation that saves children who would otherwise be sent to war. We require someone who has brute force and is not afraid to run into dangerous situations."

Michael scoffed, "Is that not just a soldiers job."

Ryan let out a chuckle that vibrated about the room, "You could look at it that way. But unlike the military, if you are not comfortable with something, we will not force you."

"What do I get out of it?" said Michael.

Ryan smiled fondly, "The freedom to do what you want. The freedom to study what you want. The freedom the army cannot offer you."

Michael thought for a moment, that did sound good, although he enjoyed the thrill of fighting, he never really liked the idea of killing people he had nothing against. "What would I need to do?"

"We need you to charge into extreme conditions. Perhaps soldier protected schools, or maybe school's with a heavy security system. Your job will be to hold back any disruptions while your team goes in and saves the children that have been chosen." he spoke proudly as if he was some hero.

"Wait...you want me to help you kidnap kids?" this was all sounding a little too familiar.

"These children have come to us, they have begged us to take them away. Our organisation has been approved by the government as long as the kids sign a contract, it's all legal."

Michael thought more, he remembered how upset Gavin was after he found out Dan was gone, he cried for weeks on end and even now, he still becomes distant every time he is mentioned. Michael couldn't live with himself knowing that there could be another Gavin out there and it was his fault that he was depressed. "I'm sorry but...I think I'll pass...Thank you for the offer thought." he said, it was killing him to be polite but if he was spending the rest of Christmas night with him he preferred that there wasn't any awkward tension.

"Are you sure you'd rather live a life in the military?" said Ryan, furrowing his brow.

"I'd rather fight for a cause I believe in." 

"And freedom isn't a cause you believe in?"

It was Michael's turn to smile, "Me and you seem to believe in a different kind of freedom. Yours includes hurting others mentally. Mine includes hurting others physically. So, you see, the thing is, more often than none, you can fix a physical injury, but a mental injury will be there forever. How is that free?"

Ryan narrowed his eyes, he seemed to be figuring out what was going on in Michael's brain. "You have a brilliant mind for someone who was created by scientists to kill." he said through gritted teeth.

Michael turned back in his chair so he was facing the food presented in front of him. He noticed Geoff was smiling from behind his hand. He knew he made the right choice.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally getting back into the hang of writing. I'm really digging this so far. Hopefully I'll continue it :3. I hope you all enjoyed!


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